You’ve just finished one of our coffee workshops. You’re filled with caffeine and you’re hungry. Where are you going to eat in Bogota that satisfies your curiosity about cuisine in this big city and that also pleases your taste buds?
Here are some of our top suggestions for restaurants and other eating spots where we do most of our coffee experiences, in Zona G (Rosales), Quinta Camacho, and La Candelaria.
Although visitors to Bogota are anxious to try Colombian food, don’t overlook the amazing places where you can try cuisines from around the world, done with a Colombian touch.
Our top picks
Here’s a short list of our favorite restaurants in the Chapinero area:
- El Chato
- Salvo Patria
- Mesa Franca
- El Cielo
- Artesano Rosales (Crepes & Waffles)
- Masa
- Canasto Bistró
- Wok
- Abasto
Zona G
Note: These restaurants are in the area of Chapinero called Zona G, the historically most important gastronomic scene in Bogota (guess what the G stands for).
El Chato
El Chato wants to surprise you. This modern bistro in Chapinero Alto, with Álvaro Clavijo at the helm, brings together international techniques and local ingredients. But those local ingredients are the ones that Colombia forgot about, the unusual products that some people gave up on. Now El Chato is helping bring those back to the dining scene.
You get an intimate feel here, where low lighting sets the mood and an open kitchen draws you in. Álvaro Clavijo created the restaurant in 2017, and by 2022 it hit No. 5 in the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony. By the following year it hit spot number 33 in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony, a huge leap forward for Colombian cuisine.
El Chato, Calle 65 # 4-76, Bogota
Mesa Franca
Mesa Franca is as young and innovative as the chef that heads it up, Iván Cadena. The restaurant got started in 2016 and by 2022 placed No.49 in the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. Also in the Chapinero Alto area, it took over one of the old houses in the area. It began as a playground for chefs, to create and investigate.
An enormous bar greets you at the entrance. Long open kitchen with open flames and busy chefs. They smoke or cook almost everything over an open flame, but it adds more than just flavor. A certain warmth and reminder that the kitchen is the heart of the restaurant, not just the home.
Flavors that contrast and surprise. Colombian products. Sophisticated cocktails with Colombian ingredients. Like a large outdoor family table that invites everyone to draw close and have a bite to eat, Mesa Franca has drawn us in and surprised us with its flavors and creativity. You’ll need reservations, but you can often make them on the same day.
Mesa Franca, Calle 61 #5-56, Bogota
Artesano Rosales Crepes y Waffles
An offshoot of Crepes & Waffles, their Artesano restaurants combine those fresh ingredients in artfully designed ways. This is the place if you’re looking for fresh ingredients and an abundance of gluten-free and vegan options that still delight the palate. The menu is focused on natural, artisan, and less expensive. You can also get some of the best ice cream and desserts in the city. There’s no need to make reservations, but be prepared for a bit of a wait at lunchtime.
Artesano Rosales, Carrera 5 #70a-08, Bogota
Salvo Patria
Salvo Patria is the restaurant that gets overlooked on too many “Best of Bogota” lists. Don’t miss this hot spot to eat in Bogota where you’ll get innovative, fresh dishes that honor Colombian ingredients. Also, they have some of the best coffee in the city – still unusual for a restaurant.
Salvo Patria, Carrera 4 Bis #58-60
Quick bites
If you’re searching for breads, pastries and light meals, try Masa. Inspired by Europe and beyond, their breads, sandwiches, soups and sweet treats are all delicious. They have excellent breakfasts as well as a popular build-your-own-salad bar. (Calle 70 #4-83). Another good option for lighter bites is Arbol del Pan, which has fantastic bread, light meals, and coffee. (Calle 66 Bis #4-63).
Quinta Camacho
Note: The following restaurants are in Quinta Camacho, just west of Zona G. The formerly residential area is filled with charming brick houses and an Old-World feel, with abundant gardens and parks and some of the best coffee shops, bakeries and restaurants in Bogota.
Canasto Bistró
The menu at Canasto Bistró was designed by Alejandro Cuéllar, who was one of our favorite chefs in Colombia. You can see his particular flair for design, art, and music in the dishes here. Every dish is finished off with edible flowers, inspired by his parents’ farm just outside of Bogota.
The fresh menu of Canasto Bistró mixes Colombian ingredients from all around the country in lighter dishes that please everyone. You’ll get all the healthy options you want, including delicious gluten-free and vegan dishes. They also have the best breakfasts in the city.
Affordable, fresh and delightful, we always turn to Canastro Bistro for a satisfying meal. And the Quinta Camacho branch is just a few steps away from where we finish our coffee workshops.
Canasto Bistró, Carrera 10a #69A-16, Bogota
Wok
Entering a Wok restaurant is a lesson in Asian minimalism. The walls have few decorations, the wood tables are simple and undecorated, and there’s an emphasis on community dining.
The owner, Benjamin Villegas, left Colombia as a teenager to study gastronomy in London, and his travels later took him throughout Asia. In 1998 he opened Wok, a restaurant based on Southeast Asian cuisine featuring 14 countries, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and China. The Quinta Camacho location is just three blocks from where we finish our coffee workshops, and they have seated dining, an express area, and to-go options.
Wok, Carrera 9 #69a-75, Bogota
Abasto
For women working within the male-dominated restaurant industry, it’s not easy to persevere and stand out. But Luz Beatriz Vélez, chef and co-founder of Abasto, has been doing that for years. Since 2007, when the farm-to-table mentality was barely mentioned in Bogota, she has been busy focusing on local ingredients and working with farmers and artisan producers.
This is food that goes beyond the search for the freshest ingredients. It’s food with a social message, a call to buy from the local farmer and promote fair trade in Colombia. Ingredients like chonto tomatoes grown with native seeds, gulupa, cubios, granadilla. . Ají wai-ya, homemade marmalades, and organic honey.
Not surprisingly, the awards followed. has been voted Second Best Chef in Colombia, and Abasto has claimed the award for third best casual restaurant. This Abasto Quinta Camacho resides in a large two-story house from the 1950s, just a few blocks from where we end our coffee workshops.
Abasto, Calle 69A #9-09, Quinta Camacho, Bogota
Tasting Menus
Plan on at least two hours for the restaurants in this section, and we suggest you make reservations in advance to get a table.
El Cielo
At El Cielo, the experience branches out from food to include all your senses. That’s what chef Juan Manuel Barrientos aims for: the experience. The wow that pops you out of your life, out of the routine, and that shakes you alive again. The tasting menu will take you on a tour of the culinary traditions around Colombia and finishes with a surprising touch. (Rosales)
Leo
Colombia’s most famous female chef, Leonor Espinosa, brings international attention to Colombia’s regional ingredients like corozo and yacón, snails and fried ants (a Colombian delicacy). (Centro Internacional, near La Macarena)
Prudencia
The owners of Prudencia, a husband and wife duo, have put together a menu that makes this our favorite spot for a gourmet meal in the heart of La Candelaria. The menu changes daily and many items are from their garden behind the restaurant.
More recommendations of where to eat in Bogota
Food tells us so much about a country – the values, the mindset, and the history. In Bogota, food lovers have a feast not only for their palate but also for their thirst to understand regional cultural differences. If you’d like to find out more about Colombia’s cuisine, read our list of Top Colombian Foods.
Discover more about Colombia’s top chefs, including Harry Sasson, Leonor Espinosa, the Rausch brothers, and Juan Manuel Barrientos.
If you love street food (or are wondering if it’s safe in Colombia!) get our suggestions.
And here are yet a few more places we recommend for food lovers.
More coffee????!
Are you looking for even more places to drink outstanding coffee? Read the Eater article that Flavors of Bogota founder Karen Attman wrote about where to hunt down the best coffee in Bogota.
